A Cup of Coffee Please

A young woman went to her mother and told her about her life and how things
were so hard for her. She did not know how she was going to make it and
wanted to give up. She was tired of fighting and struggling. It seemed as
one problem was solved a new one arose. Her mother took her to the kitchen.
She filled three pots with water. In the first, she placed carrots, in the
second she placed eggs and the last she placed ground coffee beans. She let
them sit and boil without saying a word. In about twenty minutes she turned
off the burners.
She fished the carrots out and placed them in a bowl, pulled the eggs out
and placed them in a bowl. Then she ladled the coffee into a bowl. Turning
to her daughter, she asked, "Tell me what you see?"

Carrots, eggs, and coffee," she replied.

She brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots. She did and noted
that they were soft. She then asked her to take an egg and break it. After
pulling off the shell, she observed the hard-boiled egg. Finally, she asked
her to sip the coffee. The daughter smiled, as she tasted its rich aroma.

The daughter then asked. "What's the point, mother?"

Her mother explained that each of these objects had faced the same
adversity-boiling water-but each reacted differently.

The carrot went in strong, hard and unrelenting. However after being
subjected to the boiling water, it softened and became weak.

The egg had been fragile. Its thin outer shell had protected its liquid
interior.But, after sitting through the boiling water, its inside became
hardened.

The ground coffee beans were unique, however. After they were in the boiling
water they had changed the water.

Which are you?" she asked her daughter. " When adversity knocks on your
door, how do you respond?Are you a carrot, an egg, or a coffee bean?"

Think of this: Which am I?
Am I the carrot that seems strong, but with pain and adversity, do I wilt
and become soft and lose my strength? Am I the egg that starts with a
malleable heart, but changes with the heat? Did I have a fluid spirit, but
after death, a break up, a financial hardship or some other trial, have I
become hardened and stiff? Does my shell look the same, but on the inside am
I bitter and tough with a stiff spirit and a hardened heart?

Or am I like the coffee bean? The bean actually changes the hot water, the
very circumstance that brings the pain. When the water gets hot, it releases
the fragrance and flavor. If you are like the bean, when things are at their
worst, you get better and change the situation around you. When the hours
are the darkest and trials are their greatest do you elevate to another
level?
How do you handle Adversity?ARE YOU A CARROT, AN EGG, OR
A COFFEE BEAN?
I received this from a friend back some time ago and it has stayed with me ever since. I'd like to believe that I am like the coffee bean, (like Leslie) but more often than not, I'm afraid I am more like the boiled egg.